Finding the Time
by Grace Kay
Summary: Eleven months after the birth of her children, Waverly Earp has finally found her sex drive. Too bad life with babies doesn't really leave a lot of room for sex with the wife.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: VERY MUCH INSPIRED BY MY REAL LIFE RIGHT NOW. I hope you enjoy._

 _So. I was inspired to write some more WayHaught... like 1.5 years after the first one._

 _As a new mother of 9 month old twins, this is very much inspired by my life. My daughters are also sick, snotty messes right now. My wife and I also **finally** have reached a place where the switch was flipped the other day. Right as our girls were getting sick. **Siiiiiiiggghhhh**_

 _Fair warning. I'm not holding anything back. If breastfeeding or snot or poopy diapers gross you out, definitely don't read this. The only thing I'll promise is that I won't put those things in the same scene as the smut. And there will be smut. These two deserve a pay off after what I'm about to put them through._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

Waverly tore through town on her way home from work, her grip on the steering wheel white-knuckled as she took the turns as fast as the road would let her. The scene was probably familiar to some – she used to _own_ these roads in her red Jeep back in the day – but lately she was much more sensible, driving much more carefully in a silver hatch-back SUV, two car seats taking up the back seats. But right now she was in a hurry. She needed to get home.

A switch had flipped and Waverly needed to fuck Nicole for all she was worth. Or maybe ride her face until they both passed out. She hadn't decided yet.

She'd carried the twins, two girls with beautiful, bright dispositions. Once healed from birth, she'd breast-fed them like a champion. Seriously, breastfeeding twins was her super power. They'd grown and grown, already showing they'd be tall like their genetic mother, Nicole. Waverly had gone back to her freelance "detective" work (lab and research work with Jeremy as her business partner, though they helped several agencies these days, none of them Black Badge) when the girls were six months old, and she and Nicole had arranged work so that they only needed childcare four hours a day – something their Auntie Wynonna was happy to do, Alice acting as her helper.

The twins, who they'd named Elizabeth and Julia, were nearly a year old now. All that time, and Waverly hadn't wanted to be touched for more than a quick kiss and a hug, maybe a cuddle in the morning before the day started. Her boobs made food – they were not even to be _thought of_ as sexual objects. Her lady bits had passed two giant-headed Haught babies and between that and the hormones, the muffin shop had been closed for business. On occasion, Waverly would give Nicole a hand, but more often than not she had two babies attached to her breasts and sex was just the last thing she wanted.

She already had as much skin-to-skin time as she could take. She was done. She couldn't take being touched anymore, and she couldn't manage to pull her brain out of Mommy Mode long enough to even entertain Wife/Sex Goddess Mode.

Nicole wasn't much better, she knew. Where once their sex drives – and periods – were almost perfectly synced, now they waxed and waned at different times. Nicole wanted it at night, to wind down from a stressful day. _When_ Waverly thought of it, it was first thing in the morning. Once or twice she'd almost persuaded Nicole that it was a good time, only for a baby to start crying, thereby starting their day. Early morning sex and babies just didn't mix. Sleep was too precious to get up for the day at 3am in order to have the time for lazy, slow morning sex before they needed to be up and at 'em. Even when the stars aligned and they both might be persuaded on the same day, there simply was no way to rip their minds out of their domestic haven and back into a sex mood.

But now the switch seemed to have flipped, all of a sudden. Liz and Jules were eleven months old and only nursed three times a day. Waverly's period had come back. She'd even seen the signs of fertility in her cervical mucus and the twinge that accompanied ovulation.

She was _ready to go_.

Now she just needed to persuade Nicole to try for it. Based on the way she was blowing through town, she felt pretty good about her chances. Nicole was _always_ up for pleasing Waverly when she got like this _before_ kids.

Making one last turn, she revved the engine, picking up speed on the long, straight road out toward the house they shared.

* * *

Nicole was ready to tear her hair out. Hair she was _so_ close to shaving off at this point. Another sticky hand reached up and latched on right at that moment, and she mentally made the decision. Tomorrow she would cut it off, trying a nice dyke cut like a faux hawk or an undercut or really at this point she'd be fine just shaving it off and taking the laughs from the other deputies.

Kids, man.

Julie sneezed, a huge glob of snot rocketing out and covering her mouth. With speed honed on the gun range and in the field, she got a tissue on it and the snot cleaned up before the baby could lap it up with her tongue. The thought would have made Nicole gag before kids. After watching her beautiful miracles come out of Waverly's birth canal, and every other moment that had followed in the last eleven months… well. Suffice to say she was made of sterner stuff these days.

They also didn't feel like miracles anymore, at least not all the time. Right now they were sick, coughing and sneezing and leaking from every facial orifice. She'd changed some seriously nasty diapers that day, her one day off, and what she really needed right now was a fucking _break_. Julia and Elizabeth liked her just fine normally, but when they were this sick they were like leeches.

 _I supposed I'm just getting a taste of what Waverly has gone through over the last eleven months. If they did this every damn day I would also never want to be touched ever again. Jesus._

Elizabeth, abandoned on the floor while Nicole wiped her sister's nose, started immediately to wail, arms outstretched, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Sighing, still falling for those very convincing crocodile tears, she scooped the baby up.

"You have a word now, baby," she reminded the child, whose cries stopped the second she was in her mother's arms, burying her snotty face into Nicole's shirt. "You can say 'up' now. I need you to say it and I'll pick you up, okay? The only reason I don't make you right now is because you're sick."

Probably not good for her. Probably, Nicole should stick to her guns no matter what, _make_ the girls say their one word – "up" and "down" respectively – when they wanted that thing. Oh well. It would be one more thing for the children to complain about on the therapist's couch when they were adults.

A truly disgusting smell hit Nicole's nose just as she heard a familiar voice call out from the front door.

"Baby?" It was Waverly. Thank _God_. Her voice was a little odd. Sultry. Sexy. It did _not_ mix well with what Nicole was currently doing.

"Hey Waves!" she called, checking diapers for the source of the awful smell. "We're in the nursery!" She put Julia on the floor this time, accepting her cries of injustice as she stood up with Elizabeth and took her to the changing table. The girls had diarrhea, but were eating and drinking happily so the doctor said not to bring them in unless they also developed a fever.

"Hey baby." Waverly came around the corner, bright and cheery and… those were sex eyes. Yep. Definitely not a good mix for what she was doing.

"Hey," Nicole answered back. "They have diarrhea," she continued without preamble. She felt for Waverly. She'd been uninterested since about halfway through her pregnancy. But they had sick kids. It was _not_ gonna happen tonight. "We're in for a rough night, probably. And a snotty one."

Waverly visibly deflated, the sex in her eyes replaced by genuine concern. "Do we need to make a trip to the clinic?" She picked up Julia, who was less immediate to stop her crying than Elizabeth had been a moment before.

"No," Nicole said, finishing up the diaper change. "I called the doc; they said only if they stop eating or get a fever. Can you hold her arms? Her skin's irritated and she seems to think she can make it feel better by touching it."

A beloved, familiar hand took hold of Elizabeth's little fists, holding them up by her cheeks. Waverly started making faces, and the fussy, clingy baby started giggling, her sister joining her a moment later. The most pathetic giggles imaginable, filtered through snot and spit and memories of wailing "Mama!" while trying to put themselves to sleep earlier that day.

Affixing a new diaper in place – they'd had to start using duct tape sometimes because the girls had figured out how to undo the Velcro – Nicole did up the baby's shirt, pulled her pants back on, and went to wash her hands. Waverly scooped up the baby, stalking to the couch with a baby under each arm. "Double barrel babies," they called it.

When Nicole reemerged, Waverly had both babies settled into a nursing session on the couch. The Earp sister was on her phone – she'd been able to breastfeed no handed for months now – reading something.

"Thoughts on dinner?" Waves asked.

Nicole shrugged. "Whiskey with a side of rum?"

Brown eyes flashed to hers in a smile, a laugh, familiar in a way Nicole couldn't name. Familiar like her marrow, like the feeling of pulling on her favorite pair of jeans, like the feeling of her own hair sliding through her fingers when she brushed it in the morning. "I like the way you think, Haught."

"Not worried about dosing the babies?" Nicole said.

Waves shrugged. "Meh. It'll help 'em sleep." She winked.

Nicole grinned, turned, and went to the kitchen. She returned with two glasses with ice, went to the cabinet, and poured two fingers of whiskey in each. She handed Waverly hers, and watched as the expert mother managed to drink it while keeping it away from reaching, searching baby fingers. They wanted _anything_ their mothers had these days.

Nicole sat on the arm of the couch, sipping her drink slowly, watching her wife and her daughters have their quiet moment together. Both Liz and Jules would unlatch from time to time, panting even as the boob sprayed them in the face a little, unable to breathe well enough through their noses. Nicole had long given up finding that particular phenomenon weird, though the thought of her own breasts doing anything like that was definitely one she couldn't imagine.

"So," she said after a moment of enjoying the burn of the alcohol as it made its way slowly down her throat. "Sorry you came home hot to trot and instead have to clean up snot."

"Brilliant attempt at rhyming, honey," Waverly drawled, rolling her eyes for good measure.

"Hey, gimme a break. I've been here with them all day. I'm exhausted." Her eyes snapped to the clock. Barely 4:00.

"Yeah." Waverly sighed. "I don't know what it is, but it's like something reengaged that hasn't visited since…"

"You were six months pregnant?"

Waverly nodded, looking a little sheepish. "My poor baby," she said. "You never lost your sex drive, and here I am just finding it again."

"Oh, it wasn't full-throttle this whole time," Nicole said. She gestured to their daughters. "How could I be with snotty noses and shitty diapers? It's been subdued, blocked… I don't know the right word. But I haven't felt like you did coming home for over a _year_ straight. Don't worry. Just… from time to time."

"Yeah, well. Having it quashed is pretty crappy, too," Waverly said, flashing those beautiful brown eyes again. "I'm sorry I haven't…"

"Waverly, don't apologize," Nicole said, moving smoothly to her knees so she could get between the woman's knees and kiss her. Pulling back, she smiled. "You made our two beautiful snot machine!" They laughed a moment before she continued, a little more serious. "I knew things would change. We both did. We'll find equilibrium again."

Julia pulled back and sneezed right then, covering Waverly's breast and her own face. Nicole was _not_ able to save it this time, and she watched somewhat apathetically as the girl latched on once more, breathing more easily but _definitely_ spreading snot everywhere.

"We just won't be finding it tonight," Waverly sighed. She, too, had seen something similar far too often to be grossed out anymore. "Wanna at least take a shower together once they're in bed?"

Nicole smiled, nodded, and kissed Waverly one more time. Then she got to her feet and began to clean up the tornado's-path of toys strewn throughout the house, thankful _she_ was not the one nursing their snotty babies right now.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: So a good response to this fic so far! So glad I didn't scare y'all off!_

 _This chapter is less gross, but very much still real life._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

Dinner eaten and babies put down for bed, Waverly stripped her clothes with little ceremony, pulled her hair out of its bun, and crawled under the hot water of the shower. She let out a contended sigh as the water hit her hair, soaking it quickly to the scalp.

"Sounds divine," Nicole said, and Waverly looked up, through the glass, to see her wife standing at the bathroom door.

"You could have a little divinity, too, if you join me," Waverly said, smiling.

Nicole's smile, with that dimple, lit up her face. Waverly watched, intrigued, as Nicole began to shed her clothes, also with very little ceremony. They didn't need it anymore. Their bodies were comfortable.

Not that Waverly didn't _admire_ the view. She'd never get _tired_ of it.

"You're staring," Nicole teased as she stepped into the shower. They'd put in an overly large shower when they bought and renovated the house just so they could be sure to always shower together if they wanted. It had been particularly useful when Waverly had been pregnant – Nicole had washed her feet every morning once Waverly could no longer reach without falling over.

Waverly smiled and turned, looking over her shoulder. "Can you blame me? _Officer_?"

Okay, so her desire hadn't completely subsided. That was a rather familiar roleplay of their.

Nicole raised a brow. "Oh?" She reached out, and Waverly delighted in the feeling of the other woman's hands sliding around her hips before reeling her in.

It had taken her some time to not be self-conscious when Nicole went anywhere near her hipbones and belly. Her hipbones could be found, yes, but they were covered by loose skin that could be taken hold of and stretched out like elastic. Her skin had stretched so severely in pregnancy that even now it looked like she was covered in silver tiger stripes, deep pits of stretched skin that would never go back to normal. Indeed, it had stretched so far so quickly that she had lost a lot of sensation on the surface of the skin near the end of the pregnancy.

Now, though, she was accustomed to allowing Nicole to touch her, to caress her, to lay her palms flat over her hips while pressing her fingers around hipbones and reeling her in. Warm skin pressed against her back, into her ass, both places also stretched wide by pregnancy, forever altered by their beautiful children.

"I see you're still rarin' to go?" Nicole breathed in her ear, sending goose bumps down Waverly's side.

"I could be persuaded," Waverly hedged, looking back and up into Nicole's face. "Could you?" No need to play coy like she did when they first got together.

Nicole closed her eyes and leaned her head down, resting her chin on Waverly's shoulder. "I bet I could. It's been a long day and I need a _major_ shift in gears, though."

Waverly nodded. "Yeah." She reached for the body wash and the shower pouf. "May I?"

Nicole smiled and nodded, and they switched places. Wordlessly, Nicole began to wash her hair, while Waverly lathered up Nicole's back, allowing her eyes to follow the path of her hands. She pressed lightly, looking for knots and spots of tension, rubbing them gently before moving on.

"Oh, baby, that feels _good_ ," Nicole said, barely heard over the water. Her hair was washed and conditioned now, but she hadn't yet turned to finish soaping up the rest of her body, enjoying Waverly's impromptu massage too much.

Waverly smiled, almost a smirk, and continued, kneading down Nicole's back until she hit the top of the beautiful cleft of her buttocks. She strayed for a quick grope before allowing one hand to move around Nicole's hip, her fingers sliding smoothly over the skin above her dark thatch of pubic hair. Nicole let out an audible gasp, pressing back into Waverly.

"Waverly," she said, half admonishment, half gasp of pleasure.

"Yeah?" Waverly could still pull off the innocent question, like she didn't know what she might be doing wrong. At least, she liked to think so. Her fingers trailed into that swirl of hair, stopping only when a strong hand gripped her wrist.

"As sexy as this is," Nicole said, and turned, smiling down at her. "I think I'll do that part." She leaned over and offered her lips, and Waverly met her, kissing her lightly, lips touching gently, like they were both too hot and each needed to sip this drink before truly taking a hearty swig.

Waverly grinned as they parted, then turned, allowing Nicole the privacy to do the entirely unsexy dance of finishing washing all the crevices. Less than a minute passed, and Nicole's hands were on her shoulders, turning her around once more.

"Finish your shower," she said, and Waverly's heart sped up. "I'll meet you in the bedroom."

Keeping herself from hopping in place, Waverly grinned. "Yes sir, Officer Haught."

Nicole's eyes flashed, and she gave a playful smack to Waverly's butt before exiting the shower and wrapping herself in a towel. "I'll get the cuffs," she said on her way out.

Heart pounding in anticipation, Waverly set about completing one of the shortest showers of her life.

* * *

Nicole went to the locked chest they kept in the closet. She knew one day they'd really need the lock – curious kids got into _anything_ they could – but for now it was locked mostly to keep up the habit. Fishing inside, she found the leather cuffs with the Velcro fastenings, a grin spreading across her face. Her heart gave a single pounding beat, followed quickly by a pulse between her legs. Yes, yes, she could definitely give up some sleep in order to cuff Waverly to the bed, on her stomach, and use their sadly neglected strap on.

She put the cuffs on top of the dresser and moved to her drawer, pulling out the sexiest pair of boxer-briefs she owned – black and sleek and made for a woman's curves, hugging all the right places. She pulled them on, then took up the cuffs again and attempted to arrange herself sexily on the bed.

She was more butch than femme most days, though she was happy to rock a little makeup and a sexy dress on occasion. Underwear, though, she preferred in men's cuts. But a stray comment by an ex girlfriend in college had her convinced she looked terrible in men's underwear. It didn't stop her preference for the comfort, though, so she wore it whenever she wasn't going to get laid.

Waverly had quickly rid her of the idea that the favored, comfortable underwear was not sexy, however, so now it was all she owned. This pair, though, was relatively new and not frayed at the edges, nor wash it washed out from too many trips through the washing machine.

 _I really need to get new underwear if I have frayed pairs and sex pairs_.

She settled in, pulling up erotica on her phone. No sense in not getting in the mood a little more, right? She pulled up a favorite, settling in to read until Waverly was done. Except she was exhausted and she already knew what happened and the bed was _really_ comfortable.

The next thing she knew, Waverly was poking her shoulder, and she started awake.

"Whazzat?" Nicole blinked up at her wife, who looked equal parts amused and frustrated.

"Fell asleep on the job?" Waverly said, lifting her own eyebrow.

Nicole pushed herself up on her elbows, shaking her head a little to clear it. She could feel that her hair was sticking to the side of her face, not yet dry. She no longer pulsed between her legs, and unlocking her phone, she saw that she'd barely made it a paragraph in to her erotica before surrendering to the lull of a comfortable bed and being way too tired to function.

"Oof, I'm sorry, baby. But I can still get there," she said, turning pleading eyes up at Waverly.

The other woman smiled, still looking disappointed, but not frustrated. "It's all right. I could use the sleep, too."

Nicole was secretly relieved. It took so _long_ to get there when she started from a dead sleep like this. It was why morning sex was typically off the table these days: they simply did not have the time.

"Are you sure?" she asked anyway, brandishing the cuffs. "I could do you, at least?"

Waverly shook her head. "I want all of you," she said. "When the time is right."

"We just need to find it," Nicole mused, shaking her head. She looked back up to meet Waverly's gaze. "If you're sure, then yeah I could really use the sleep. Early shift tomorrow."

Waverly nodded. "I'll be fine." She sat on the edge of the bed once Nicole scooted to her own side, letting her long hair out of the towel holding it above her head. Working a brush through it, she began to hum to herself. Nicole watched quietly, a small smile tugging at her lips.

That was her wife, her Waverly, sitting there on the edge of the bed they had shared for five years now. They'd been through hell and back together, along with the family they'd found in Xavier, Doc, and Jeremy. The fact that they could do such simple things as take showers and brush their hair while their children slept fifteen feet away was a miracle all its own. The fact she could turn down an opportunity for sex – because she knew another would come around soon – was also its own miracle. And weird as it might seem, she reveled in that ability.

A baby wail interrupted her thoughts, and she groaned, burying her face in a pillow. Waverly froze mid-brush, looking over her shoulder to Nicole. They were both clearly hoping they didn't have to be the one to get up and deal with the unhappy baby.

After two endless seconds, Nicole said, "I'll get it. You finish brushing your hair."

"Okay, baby," Waverly said, continuing the brush's halted stroke. "Let me know if you need me.

Nicole nodded, pulled on an undershirt – these were now just regular underwear, no longer to have a dildo strapped over them for ultimate sexiness – and stalked down the hallway.

Inside the nursery, she found Elizabeth standing in her crib, snot and tears running down her face. Julia, their heavier sleeper, lay panting little baby breaths, unperturbed by her sister's cries. Picking the baby up, Nicole sat in the big rocking recliner with a warm quilt and rocked with the baby.

They spent the whole night cuddled together in that big leather chair. And while her back and neck would be mad at her the next day for it, Nicole recognized the small miracle being able to do _this_ was, too.

And she was grateful that at least the opportunity for sexual connection with her wife had already come and gone before the baby had started crying.


	3. Chapter 3

Nicole washed her hands. The warm water felt good running over her skin. Though, her cuticles were looking the worse for wear, her skin dry and weathered after being washed so many times in the last few days while the girls had been sick.

As she reached for the cuticle clippers, she smiled, thinking of her babies, who were feeling _so_ much better. She thought of their baby grins, their five teeth each, their playful smacks on each other, not yet having learned how to be gentle. Julia didn't stand unaided yet, but she could cruise along the couch so fast that you _really_ had to watch her. Elizabeth would stand in the middle of the room, then get down and crawl where she wanted to go before standing back up.

They were just so damn cute. So cute it overruled how gross they were. Like. These children once drew on their sheets with the contents of their diapers – hence needing to duct tape them shut. They were _gross_. How could these children make Nicole stupid with their cuteness, their coos, their cries of "Mama" when they needed one or the other of Waverly and Nicole? How did they rewrite the programming in Nicole's brain? Before she had been steadfast, steady, unflappable, even. Now she could barely look at a missing person report without thinking of that person being someone's child and _dear God we need to find the baby!_

Finishing with the clippers, Nicole almost absent-mindedly pulled up her phone, opening her email, then Instagram, then Facebook. Last, she looked through the pictures of Elizabeth and Julia she'd taken that afternoon and evening, during her time with them. There were some good ones, despite the snot that didn't seem to want to clear up, even though both girls were back to their full vim and vigor. Selecting a few, she posted them for her friends to see, unable to keep from sharing their cuteness with everyone she knew.

"Hey baby."

Nicole, still leaning against the sink in the hall bathroom, looked up to see Waverly in the doorway. She had a smile on her face that was so familiar, and yet still able to stop her heart for a moment when it flashed.

"Hey," Nicole said, returning the smile, feeling her cheek pull, showing off her dimple, favored by Waverly. As she suspected, the shorter woman crinkled her nose, pushed off from the doorjamb, and crossed the small space between them before pushing up on tiptoes to press a small kiss into said dimple. Nicole took advantage of the proximity of her wife, looping an arm around her waist and pulling her close.

Waverly let out a tiny yelp, but met Nicole's kiss eagerly enough, smiling into the kiss in that way Nicole loved. It used to make her laugh but now she just quietly rejoiced.

"Mmmm," Waverly hummed, wiping the corner of her mouth with one thumb as she pulled back, smiling up into Nicole's face. Nicole noted that Waverly had changed from her work clothes to yoga pants and a tank top, one of the special ones with a nursing bra built-in. She remembered how, when they first were getting comfortable together, Waverly would wear overlarge t-shirts, sometimes tying them off above her navel like she did at Shorty's. It was sexy, but also covered her breasts completely. Now, Waverly woke up sporting two wet spots on her shirt, her breasts full to bursting in their eagerness to feed their children. How far away those days were. Nicole wouldn't trade for it back, though.

"You're staring," Waverly noted.

Nicole pouted. "What. I'm not allowed to stare?"

A single brow rose. "You _cannot_ be horny. You were just cooing over babies on your phone. Don't deny it."

Nicole glanced at her phone screen, still lit up on the post she'd made. Instead of answering Waverly, she leaned over, burying her nose in the woman's neck, enveloping herself in that scent as a strong wave of affection overcame her. She loved her little family so much right in that moment.

Waverly allowed it for a few seconds, but finally pushed gently at Nicole's shoulders. "So," she said. "Movie night."

Nicole brightened. She'd almost forgotten they'd planned that. "I'll make the popcorn?"

"Yes," Waverly said, and then flashed a sly smile. "I got us something a little… sexy."

It was Nicole's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Wow, honey. Still that hard up for it?"

Waverly smacked her arm lightly. "Don't make fun of me!" Then she sighed. "And yes. I am. But also because we are adults who get to do and watch adult things from time to time. And this is a movie we really liked when it came out. So I thought we could set phones and baby pictures aside for two hours and relive some _adultness_." Her fingers crawled up Nicole's bare arm before she turned her palm up between them, expectant.

Nicole grinned, handing over her phone. "Sounds like a plan," she said, before catching Waverly's lips in another kiss. Then she veritably skipped off to the kitchen to make the popcorn.

"Not too much salt!" Waverly called behind her. Nicole laughed, but made no promises.

* * *

The movie was doing the trick. Waverly was tucked into Nicole's side, the taller woman's arm wrapped around her shoulders. The deputy's fingers had kept up a steady pattern: playing with Waverly's hair, trailing over the skin on her arm, tugging at the waistband of her pants, before trailing back up and onto dancing across Waverly's neck. The touches, light and almost absent-minded, had Waverly thrumming with energy.

Next to her, pressed to her side, Waverly could feel Nicole was the opposite of relaxed. Her body might not be rigid, but she kept fidgeting the way she did when she didn't want to be sitting still. They both appeared to be committed to finishing the movie, but given that several of her erogenous zones were being struck by trailing fingers, Waverly thought Nicole couldn't be paying _that_ much attention to what was happening on screen. The fact that she found so many of Waverly's _spots_ with the path of her hand was just too coincidental.

Or… perhaps she _was_ paying attention. It was certainly attention-worthy. The two main protagonists were currently locked in the throes of passion, their final time together before being separated by life circumstances – period films with Sapphic romances tended to have endings like that – and to this day it was one of the sexiest scenes between two women Waverly had ever seen. They'd had sex about it, like, every time they'd watched the movie in the early days after it came out. And now… well, Waverly was certainly ready to have sex about it this time, too.

But first she had to make it through the next twenty minutes. She was getting uncomfortably warm, so she pulled away from Nicole a little, letting air in between them.

"You okay?" Nicole asked, all concerned eyebrows.

"Just hot," she whispered with a smile.

Nicole smiled back, nodding, and returned her attention to the movie. Her hand moved to Waverly's knee and began tracing patterns through the material. It almost tickled, but it was nice all the same to have the contact.

A phone buzzed. They both looked up, smiled when their gazes met, and then settled their eyes on the TV. It was a no phone movie date, after all.

Another buzz.

After the third one, Waverly started looking at the clock. Three more buzzes in the span of two minutes.

"Just go see what it is, Waves," Nicole said. Her eyes were looking up at their phones on the landing table, the movie forgotten for a moment. Waverly's was the one lit up. "So many in the span of a few minutes. Might be important."

Waverly sighed, but got up, moving across the room until she could reach her phone. Leaning against the table, she unlocked it, pulling up the texts that were piling up.

It was Jeremy. Apparently some new movie was being made out of one of his new favorite comics. The news had just been released. Waverly knew he told her because she was the only one who remotely followed that stuff. He'd even gotten her into a few of his favorites.

After reading a snippet of an article, she texted back, exhaling a laugh at his response. He sent a picture of himself, smiling his dopey smile while holding an issue of said comic. Then he asked how the Haught Spawn, as he called the girls, were.

Before Waverly was really aware of what she was doing, she had sent him a few pictures from that day. One text wasn't enough, though, and she made the mistake of scrolling through her photos, trying to find a good comparison for just how truly miserable Elizabeth and Julia had been compared with now. But soon she was scrolling well beyond that, looking at tiny newborns with striped newborn hats, more blanket than baby in Nicole's arms in their living room on the day they came home from the hospital.

"Hey baby," Nicole said, getting Waverly's attention. Waverly looked up to see the credits scrolling and Nicole looking over at her from the couch. "You get stuck?"

"Shit. Yes." Waverly went back to her text conversation with Jeremy, rolling her eyes at herself as she went. She sent the text that had been waiting on her to find the perfect comparison pic, then locked her phone and pocketed it.

Checking back in with her body, she found she'd _completely_ lost her mojo. _Great_.

Nicole patted the couch next to her, dimple on display. Waverly complied, crossing the room before reclaiming her spot on the couch. She barely managed to not throw herself down in a dejected heap.

Nicole's laugh filled the space between them, warm and bubbling. "Aww, Waves, it's okay. I probably would've gotten stuck if it had been mine."

Waverly just pouted. "Yeah. I just… I so wanted to finally _connect_ with you like that, and here I am shooting myself in my own foot." She felt petulant, but she also didn't care. It was a true sentiment.

Instead of answering, Nicole reached out, bridging the space between them with her long arm. Waverly didn't miss the light from the TV playing over the subtle movements of muscle in those strong arms, bare in her undershirt. Callused fingertips found her hair, pushing it behind Waverly's ear before trailing down her jaw. They ended under her chin, exerting just enough pressure to get Waverly to tilt up.

"Hey," Nicole said, and her brown eyes were black pools in the low light. "Just kiss me, would you?"

Waverly smiled, nodded, and pushed forward, crawling into her wife's lap and straddling her legs. They kissed, and kissed, and kissed, and for a moment she thought she might be getting the moment back. Her blood began to speed up and her mind was giving her only lazy thoughts of how good Nicole's skin felt naked.

And then her phone buzzed again.

"Dammit!" she muttered. She'd forgotten she'd pocketed it.

Nicole just chuckled, sitting back. "Who is it?" she asked.

"Jeremy." Waverly sighed, unthreading her fingers from Nicole's shirt. "He's all excited about a movie that's being made. Though last thing I did was send some pictures of the girls…"

"Well let's see it," Nicole said.

Waverly narrowed her eyes. "But…"

"We'll get there, baby. We'll find a way to not get distracted," Nicole said. "But I think the ship has sailed tonight. So go ahead."

Waverly sighed, but nodded and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Her brain would now only give her thoughts of cute babies and Jeremy's dopey face, anyway. _Not_ sexy.

She unlocked it, and then started giggling. Nicole took her phone hand and turned it, staring for a moment before her burst of laughter filled the room.

Each picture had been sent back, every person in them now sporting Doc's mustache digitally added, babies included.

"He is too much," Waverly said, shaking her head. She put the phone down and leaned forward, melting into the circle of her wife's arms. "Sorry," she mumbled somewhere in the vicinity of Nicole's armpit.

"Hey. Nothin' to be sorry about. This is what we signed up for, remember? We'll have sex again someday."

"And it's not like they wasted kisses," Waverly pointed out.

Nicole snickered. "There's a thought." She yawned, then buried her face in Waverly's hair for a minute before finally giving her a quick pat on the butt. "Come on, Waves," Nicole said. "They may not have been wasted kisses, but wasted opportunity for _sleep_ is definitely a thing."

Waverly got up off her taller wife, smiling and shaking her head at Jeremy's antics once more before heading for bed. The beauty of it being _now_ and not _eight years ago_ , when they first got together, was that _now_ they had the time to try again another day.

So she crawled into bed, pushing her face into Nicole's shirt and falling asleep with the smell of her wife surrounding her, heart full of affection.

* * *

 _A/N: One of the biggest struggles for me as a mother is to slow down. Like. Everything is going a mile a minute and you have to fit three things into the amount of time I used to spend doing one thing. I'm constantly eyeing the clock and I must must must have my phone or something in my hand so I can get some Facebook/Twitter/Candycrush time while we watch a little TV because it's literally the only time I'm going to get to do so._

 _My mom struggled with this, too. She had so much she wanted to do but also four children and a somewhat inept husband and ran the household. She she knitted while she was at church because that was literally the only time she could. And she got up at 5 in the morning just to have an hour to herself because every other part of her day was full of people and activities and work._

 _This is just a small taste of that, of course. Of the struggle to just sit still and enjoy some time with this person you love. But it's a very real part of it. At least for me. Slowing down and just enjoying one thing is just the hardest thing to do._


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: This one's all from Nicole's POV._

 _Also, a possible description for this chapter: in which some Real Heavy Shit gets in the way of sexytimes._

 _That's right, folks. We have not yet Found The Time. But fuck if this kind of shit doesn't intrude on lighter, more fun thoughts on the regular._

* * *

Nicole came home feeling like a drowned rat. It had rained all day, and she'd been outside, dealing with a _mess_ of a traffic accident, for most of it. There had been no fatalities, thank God, but all parties had been taken to the hospital by ambulance and that left a very messy scene Nicole had needed to _keep that way_ until she had witness statements.

In the rain.

In her uniform.

She was pretty sure her boots would never be dry again.

Of course, the sky was clearing as she pulled into her driveway. It was kind of nice, but at the same time it would've been cozy to be _inside_ while it rained, maybe with a cup of hot coffee – decaf, or she'd never get to sleep – and a baby or two cuddling in her lap.

It was just as well, though. That scene she'd dreamed up was _way_ too idyllic. More than likely, it would've been her in her wet clothes running around until they got the girls in bed and that just sounded like a whole lot more misery. This way at least she'd get the sunset while running around after lightning-fast crawlers in her wet uniform pants.

Nicole turned the car off after coming to a stop. Sighing, she gathered up her travel mug from the morning and her bag and opened the door.

She promptly landed in mud up to her ankle.

"Oh, perfect," she sighed, rolling her eyes heavenward. The mud sucked as she pulled her foot out of the puddle, but she managed, hopping over the rest of the obvious stuff on her way up to the porch.

She had to actually put her things down once there, her boots requiring two hands to remove. Hands that were covered in mud once finished.

"It is just not my day," she murmured, before wiping her hands on her pants. It wasn't like they didn't need to be washed.

Opening the door, she called out. "Hey baby! I'm home! I've had one hell of a day, so if I could just change before the baby-wrangling starts, I'd be in heaven!"

She was answered by silence.

"What the…"

Silence in a house with eleven-month-old twins was _not_ a good sign. Silence in a house containing an _Earp_ was even worse. "Baby?" she tried.

Now that she thought about it, things were rather… dark. Not a light was turned on, in fact. And while it wasn't yet _dark_ outside, it wasn't full daylight either. Was Waverly even _here_?

"The car's out front. I _saw_ it," Nicole said to herself, setting her things on the landing table. Then she went padding – well, _squelching_ in wet socks – through the house.

"Waves?" Nothing in the kitchen, or the living room. No baby cries of sadness or squeals of joy. No Waverly in her not-quite-baby voice talking to the babies, trying to teach them new words or reading to them from the many, well-chewed board books they owned.

Nicole went down the hall – their house was a sprawling single story, not necessarily what they'd wanted, but it ended up being a godsend for poor pregnant Waverly – searching room by room. The nursery was quiet, dark, the toys cleaned up… and the cribs empty. The guest room was empty, but that was no surprise. The third bedroom, converted into a home office for Waverly, was also empty, files tidied and the computer monitor on its usual screensaver of baby pictures.

That just left their shared bedroom.

"Waves?" Nicole called softly, heart suddenly pounding at sight of the closed door. Where _was_ she? Was something wrong? Nicole checked her phone; no messages. Would this room be empty, too?

And what would Nicole do if something _was_ wrong? What if they'd had to leave all of a sudden for the hospital? What if Elizabeth or Julia was in a tiny little hospital gown right now? Her heart nearly broke just imagining it. What if it was Waverly who was hurt? It had nearly killed her the time she landed in the hospital before the curse was broken. And Waves hadn't even been the mother of her children back then.

A soft _meow_ caught her attention, and Nicole saw Calamity Jane hunched in the corner of the hall outside her bedroom door. That was odd. CJ _loved_ to lounge on the bed, and they rarely didn't let her. She even slept with them most nights that they didn't have sex, which was pretty much all the time these days.

Did she accidentally get locked out when Waverly swept through the house to get the girls to the hospital?

"Jesus, just open the door, Haught," she told herself. "You're gonna kill yourself with worry. Besides, this is stupid. You _saw_ her car out front and her purse on the landing table."

Reaching out, Nicole turned the doorknob. "Waves?"

Candlelight greeted her. Candlelight, and a _very_ sexy Waverly sprawled on the bed in lingerie, her smile communicating her message far better than words: _come and take me_ , that smile said. _I'm yours_.

Nicole sagged, relieved. She felt tension she didn't even know she was holding siphon off of her. Seriously, even her _eyebrows_ suddenly felt lighter and more maneuverable.

"Oh, thank God," she whispered.

"I… okay, that was _not_ the reaction I was hoping for," Waverly said. She was still on her back, but her smile was replaced by an amused sort of confusion. It was a look Wynonna put on her face quite a lot – she wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or roll her eyes in exasperation. Nicole put it there decidedly less so.

"Sorry," Nicole said, pushing up off the door, which she'd been using to support her relief. "Sorry, I-"

"Oh my God, Nicole, you look like a drowned rat!" Waverly got to her feet. _God_ , she was sexy. Why did Nicole have to think the worst? Now Waverly was on her feet, in Mom Mode, instead of on the bed, in Sex Mode.

"I'm fine, it's fine," Nicole said, and belatedly reached for her belt. "I'll just get out of them and we can. You know. Do the thing."

Waverly's eyebrows tried to join her hairline. "Really? 'The thing'? What are we, twelve?"

Nicole rolled her eyes, then peeled her pants and underwear off inside-out. She would figure out what to do with them later. Any other time, really. Sex was way more important than wet, dirty pants. She stood back up, already unbuttoning her shirt, which was starting to grow stiff with half-dried mud.

Waverly didn't look totally convinced, but she didn't look like she was ready to give up, either. That was good. "Do you want… help?" she asked.

Nicole grinned. "I got this." She pulled the shirt off her shoulders, but it got stuck, being wet and all. Waverly moved around her to help, murmuring _Sure you do_ as she went. "So the girls are…?"

"At the Homestead. And that's the last we're gonna talk about them until _after_ ," Waverly answered, her tone brooking no arguments. Her gaze, even, was a pointed glare when she returned to stand in front of Nicole.

The deputy smiled. "Fair." She reached for the hem of her undershirt, pulling it over her head, and then came her bra. Finally, she was naked.

And cold.

But a warm Waverly would take care of that in no time.

Waverly pulled Nicole close by her shoulders. "So what do you think? Am I good or what?"

"It's great, baby," Nicole answered, hurried as she tried to dip in for a kiss.

"Yeah? You like the candles? The lingerie?" Waverly's eyebrows waggled at the last.

"Yes!" Nicole laughed. "I'm trying to show you how much! So let me kiss you!"

Waverly giggled, and then their lips met. Nicole tried to deepen it, to wrap her arms around Waverly, to pull them close before turning and dragging her to bed. But Waverly pushed at Nicole's shoulders, and she could feel the shorter woman's nose wrinkling before pulling away completely.

"What?" Nicole asked, a little breathless. Her worry was forgotten, replaced by a skipping heartbeat trying to get blood to her brain and between her legs all at once.

"You, uh…" Waverly took a deep breath. "You smell like wet dog, baby." Her nose remained wrinkled even as she smiled in apology.

Nicole paused in her efforts to bring Waverly close again. "I…"

"Were you working with the canine patrol?"

"Only for like a half hour!" Nicole protested.

"Well, it was enough. You never could keep yourself from hugging them when they get things right."

Nicole let out a puff of breath. It was true; she couldn't deny it. "Fuck, man," she murmured, pulling her fingers through her hair. It was tangled and awful. She was cold. She was dirty. And she was horny.

Well, if she couldn't relieve the last one, she could at least relieve the others. And there was still hope. She wasn't giving up just from one little roadblock.

"Look. Don't lose _this_ ," Nicole said, gesturing to… well, _all_ of Waverly. "I'll shower _so fast_ , I promise."

Waverly chuckled, kissing just the tip of her nose before releasing her shoulders. "Okay."

Nicole almost _ran_ to the shower. She got the water hot and jumped in under the showerhead, closing her eyes in ecstasy as the hot water cascaded down her skin. She took a moment to really relish the feeling before she reached for the shampoo.

"So what was the deal when you came in?" Waverly asked, and Nicole stifled a yelp. She hadn't realized Waverly had followed her in to the bathroom and planned to sit with her while she showered.

Lathering her hair, Nicole thought back, heat crawling up her cheeks at her earlier silliness. "I just… didn't know where you were, and my imagination ran away with me," she answered.

"And what were you imagining, exactly?"

Nicole rinsed her hands, going next for the face wash, stalling for time to think of the right words. Once she had lathered and rinsed her face and hair, she finally answered. "I spent the day in the rain sorting out a really awful accident. So I guess it was fresh on my mind when I came home to an empty house."

Waverly was quiet a moment. When she did speak, it was of course _directly_ to the point. She was too smart not to figure out exactly what Nicole had been thinking. "You thought something had happened to all of us?"

Nicole sighed. "Yeah. I kept picturing you guys… _hurt_. Like the victims in the accident today. And I can't… God, baby, I don't know what I'd do if that happened to any of you."

She wasn't washing anymore. She was done. She just stood there under the water, finally looking at Waverly through the glass. Waverly, whole and healthy. Danger and violence _had_ been part of their lives, many years before they had the girls. But it was… separate, somehow. It was so fantastical and it was also _done_.

But that didn't mean that they were immune to danger. The perfectly mundane could still wreak all kinds of havoc in the carefully laid plans of their lives. It made Nicole feel like a fool for even _making_ plans.

And it also _seriously_ killed her libido. Dammit.

Waverly was on her feet now. She crossed the bathroom slowly, coming to rest on the other side of the glass and pressing one palm against it. Nicole mirrored her, pressing her palm to the same spot on the glass and looking down into deep brown eyes. She tried to smile, but she could feel her eyebrows pulling into the look she knew Waverly called Concerned Eyebrows.

"I love you, Waverly," Nicole said, unblinking as the water hit her back, splashing up onto the glass and fogging her view of her flawless wife.

A small smile. "I love you, too, Nicole." A sigh. "Please come out?"

Nicole nodded, turned off the water, and opened the door. Waverly was waiting with an oversized towel. Once wrapped, Nicole just stood, gazing upon her wife. Waverly was still sexy in her lingerie, but the feelings coursing through Nicole were no longer libidinous. Instead, she was full of warmth and affection, as well as worry. Her children's silly little faces soared through her mind. Their hair was looking like it would be red like her own. Their eyes were blue like her mother's, who they would sadly never meet (sadly for Nicole's mother. In Nicole's opinion, the girls were not missing _anything_ by not knowing them). But something about them looked just like the woman right in front of her, who grew them inside of her very _body_ and made it clear that motherhood was so much more than genetics.

Waverly didn't speak, simply pushed herself into the circle of Nicole's arms.

After a time, she murmured into Nicole's armpit. "I don't know what I'd do, either." She pulled her head up, resting her chin on Nicole's shoulder. "And that's after I've seen you in a hospital gown too many times."

Nicole thought of Jack, of her broken and bruised ribs, of waking up in the ditch, then the ambulance, then the hospital. She thought of how _alone_ she'd felt, unable to do anything for Waverly, feeling terribly sorry for herself that she had _no one_ to come get her at the hospital.

She thought of the Widow's poison. She'd had _too_ _many_ people come then, Nedley calling Shay when it looked like she wouldn't make it.

She thought of the time Dolls's SUV hit a demon that could cloak itself from sight. They had rolled several times, and she'd landed in the hospital once more. They _both_ had, everyone in the car. Wynonna had killed the fucker, at least, but nobody had come out of that one unscathed. Dolls had needed to replace the vehicle, even.

"We've been through the wars," Nicole murmured, bringing a hand up so she could stroke Waverly's long hair. She felt the hills and valleys of shoulders and back through the curtain of hair, and when she got to the bottom, she tucked her hand under so she could caress the skin left uncovered by the sexy lingerie.

"We have," Waverly said.

"Let's go to bed, baby," Nicole said after a moment.

Waverly nodded, pulling back and taking the towel. She then led Nicole to bed naked before removing the bustier and garter belt.

"I'm sorry I ruined the moment," Nicole said. She really felt sorry. It was so perfect and she just had to come in muddy and smelling like wet dog and imagining her whole family in danger when there was _nothing wrong_.

Waverly looked up in the middle of sliding her stockings down. She was smiling, at least. Not mad, then. "It's okay, Nicole. I… I just did all this and didn't even text you to take stock of your day. Of course you might've had a day where you dealt with a car wreck, or stood out in the rain all day, or _both_. It really wasn't fair, when I think about it. All kinds of pressure and expectation on you when you walked through the door. I bet all you wanted was a change of clothes and a snack before chasing babies around for the evening."

Nicole didn't have anything to say to that, so she just smiled and pulled Waverly into her once the smaller woman had blown out all the candles and come to bed.

"We should have an emergency plan," Waverly said after they kissed a few times. "In case the cell network is down during some big emergency."

"Like what?" Nicole asked.

"You know. A fire or a flood or something. Something that would make it hard to get home, or… make home not… _here_ anymore."

Nicole pulled her a little closer. "I hate to even think of it. But you're right, of course."

Waverly kissed the tip of her nose. "We can talk about it tomorrow."

"Good plan," Nicole said. She was finally warm, and the exhaustion was settling into her bones, pulling her toward sleep with a rapidity that might be alarming except that she was a new parent who was adept at taking sleep when she could.

"I love you," Waverly said.

Nicole kissed whatever was closest to her lips – Waverly's shoulder, she figured – and mumbled, "I'm gonna do you so hard in the morning."

She barely registered Waverly's sigh. "Wynonna's bringing the girls home at six. Sorry, my Casanova. We'll find the time soon, but it's not gonna be in the morning."

Nicole tried to respond, but her lips wouldn't move. So she hummed and let the fog of sleep overtake her, safe and warm in the familiar embrace of Waverly Earp.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: And this one is all Waverly._

* * *

It took three more tries before both Waverly and Nicole gave up and stopped _trying_.

A dinner date ended in food poisoning for Nicole. A weekend trip out of town – their first – made Waverly so nervous she could barely sleep, worrying something would happen to her babies while they were away. Indeed she had been so sick with worry (they had no cell reception at their little mountain cabin) that Nicole had merely packed them up the next morning and wordlessly driven them home, hand buried in the hair at the nape of Waverly's neck to help calm her until they had reception once more.

The third try had been a simple, and rare, day off together. Naptime had come, and Waverly had been so _close_ to an orgasm. But then Julia had started crying and Waverly's _boobs had started to leak in response_ and… well. It was kind of hard to keep going from there, even for a solo finish while Nicole handled the wakeup and mealtime. The intimate time had been delicious, and Waverly relished what she could get. But screeching to such an abrupt halt had been jarring to say the least.

So they quietly just… stopped trying. Waverly found every excuse to touch her wife, to kiss her and cuddle her and be available for a spontaneous trip to Pound Town, getting the physical affection she needed even if it didn't come with sex. And Nicole, too, seemed to reach for Waverly more, holding her and kissing her hair and rubbing her shoulders even when she was tired.

But Waverly stopped trying to force it. It just… she couldn't trust that it would happen, and she couldn't handle the disappointment when she got her hopes up any longer.

And it was okay. Good, even. She and Nicole had not been this affectionate since before Waverly got pregnant. She'd been too uncomfortable, too _hot_ – a different and weird experience for Waverly of Four Blankets fame – while pregnant. She'd then been touched out while exclusively breastfeeding twin babies every three-to-four hours. But now she forced herself to fill some of her touch quota with her wife's skin and it was _divine_. She'd missed it, and she hadn't even realized it until her libido had turned back on.

She woke up on the morning of the girls' first birthday feeling good. She woke Nicole up with a kiss, smiling into those lips that she used to not be able to get enough of. Still couldn't, truth be told. At least, not this morning.

"Mmmmm you taste good," she murmured.

Nicole scoffed, laughing as she said, "I do not! I forgot to brush my teeth last night!"

"Don't care," Waverly murmured, pulling her wife closer and kissing her again. "I want more of you."

A predictable sound pierced the air. A happy sound – a squeal of delight – this time, at least, but still. Elizabeth _and_ Julia were awake. _That_ had been what had awoken Waverly minutes before: happy baby sounds.

A groan. "I swear, I am so going to enjoy busting up their make out sessions when they're teenagers," Nicole whispered. She gave Waverly one last peck on the tip of her nose. "You wanna nurse them here, or in the nursery?"

"Is there any way I can convince you to snuggle me while I nurse them?"

Nicole's expression softened. "We've tried that, baby, you know it doesn't work. You just get too hot and nothing gets done. But I can make you eggs and let you eat them in peace once you guys are done?"

Waverly's stomach growled at the mention of eggs. The Breastfeeding Hunger had never really gone away. She wondered what it would be like to have to watch what she ate again; right now it seemed like everything she ate went straight into her children, no matter how much she shoveled into her mouth.

"You have yourself a deal, Officer," she said, mock-saluting. Nicole grinned, then laughed, the sound trailing her as she left the bedroom.

"And I'll nurse them in bed!" Waverly called, before turning off the monitor, pulling down the nursing bra on her shirt, and lying back.

* * *

"You guys don't even know what's coming!" Nicole said, her tone exaggerated to try to get the girls excited. Elizabeth squealed "Mama!" in reply, while Julia just yelled "No!" It was her second word.

Waverly rolled her eyes. "I'm sure they won't remember it. And they won't even know why today is different."

Nicole laughed. "No, they won't. But the first birthday isn't really for them, right? It's for us." Her hand landed softly on Waverly's knee, the callused palm warm on her exposed skin. "We survived. We made it to the year mark, and regular, ordinary life with twins didn't kill anyone."

Waverly sighed, a happy smile overtaking her face. "You're right. We did. God, how do people ever decide to have more children after twins?"

"I imagine most of them are people who don't use complicated medical science to make babies," Nicole chuckled, and Waverly joined in. It was true. IVF and then carrying _two babies_ had been no joke. They weren't entirely sure whether they wanted more children or not, but they were agreed that if they _did_ have more, Waverly would _not_ be the one carrying the next pregnancy. Because, as Wynonna would say, fuuuuuuuck that.

Nicole slowed down the SUV, turning on her signal, even though there was no one around to signal _to_. They turned onto the long drive towards the homestead, the familiar house and barn in the distance bringing a smile to both their faces.

"I'll never forget coming back here the first time," Waverly said.

"Oh yeah? God, that must've been back…"

"When everything started," Waverly finished. "I hadn't even met you. I think I met you the next day, maybe? Wynonna had just come back into town. I don't think I'd even _met_ Doc yet." She shook her head, turning a smile on Nicole. "It was the beginning of a lot of relationships that are now family," she said, a small smile turning her lips up.

Nicole didn't respond, just smiling and squeezing her knee in return.

Ten minutes later, Waverly watched as Alice led Elizabeth and Julia, both now walking with confidence, in a merry chase around a fenced in part of the yard. Outside of the fence, Alice's Australian shepherd watched with anxious eyes, wanting so badly to herd the little people and keep them from moving so much.

"You sure they'll be okay out here?" Waverly asked her sister.

"I got you covered, girl!" Wynonna said, squeezing her shoulder. She then leaned closer. "I have Nicole in the bedroom looking for some bogus decoration for the party. Go bang her on your old bed!"

Waverly turned blinking eyes on her sister. "I… what?!"

"This is my birthday gift to you! The girls! Whatever! Go bang your wife, I know it's been like months!"

Waverly frowned. "More like a year."

Wynonna's eyes made a valiant effort at popping out of her face. "A _year_?! How… just _how_?!"

Waverly shrugged one shoulder. "Pregnancy, hormones, busy with babies… Between not having the drive and not having the opportunity…" She looked away. "Though lately it's only lack of finding the time. That particular switched flipped back on about a month ago."

"So… what about that night I had the girls over? Wasn't that for sex?"

Waverly groaned. "Nicole came home a little traumatized after dealing with a bad accident. It…"

"Didn't get her lady parts pumping?" Wynonna supplied.

Waverly smacked her shoulder with a guffaw. "God, Wynonna!"

Wynonna just laughed.

Waverly continued. "Anyway, I stopped trying to force it. We've been getting intimacy in other ways…"

A beat. The Wynonna was yelling. "Holy shit, Waves, you need to go hold her down and ride her face or something _pronto_!" And with that, she forcibly turned Waverly around and pushed her toward the door with a kick to the rump.

Waverly giggled as she entered the kitchen. Not much had changed since she lived here, though it was a _little_ messier, and had a lot more items meant for a child scattered about.

Waverly ignored it all, making a beeline for the stairs that led up to the majority of the bedrooms. Her old room – Willa's old room – had been converted to a guest room, which mostly meant it had the same furniture and bedspread, but all of Waverly's belongings had been moved out when she had started cohabitating with Nicole years ago.

Waverly pushed the door open as gently as she could, peeking inside to see what Nicole was up to. The tall redhead, dressed in jeans and a white ribbed tank top, was currently on tiptoe, rummaging at the top of the closet. Her arms were pulling the hem of her shirt up, exposing the small of her back to Waverly's hungry eyes.

Waverly wanted it. She wanted the muscular arms under one hand while she fisted the newly-short hair in the other. She wanted to peel those jeans off. She wanted to push Nicole down on her old bed and straddle her and kiss and kiss and kiss her until neither of them could breathe.

And she _could_ now.

Stepping all the way into the room, Waverly closed the door behind her, making sure it made just enough noise so that Nicole would know she was there without startling her.

Nicole looked over her shoulder. "Oh, hey baby."

Waverly crossed the room in three steps, placing her hands on Nicole's bared skin. "Hey," she replied in a low voice, sweeping her fingers up under the tank top.

"Oh, that tickles!" Nicole laughed, dropping whatever she was holding and lowering her arms.

Waverly knew what she was doing. Once Nicole's arms were freed, she pulled her back enough to slip around and in front of her. Then she slipped her fingers back up under Nicole's shirt, immediately finding the edge of the taller woman's bra – a favored sensitive spot.

"Whoa, down, girl," Nicole laughed, looking down even as she let her hands come to rest of Waverly's hips. Something on Waverly's face must have given Nicole pause, however, because her laugh died in her throat, her expression changing rapidly from mirth to wide-eyed seriousness.

"I want you," Waverly said simply, tilting her chin up for a kiss and watching as Nicole's gaze zeroed in on her lips.

"I…"

"Wynonna's on it. They're fine. Now kiss me."

Nicole obeyed, lowering her lips to meet Waverly's. She _did_ taste better from that morning – she'd eaten and brushed the morning breath away – but still Waverly tasted that lovely, familiar taste that was what she couldn't get enough of that morning. Couldn't get enough of _ever_. She moaned into the kiss, and something seemed to snap between them.

The next few minutes were all teeth and lips and clothes dumped unceremoniously on the floor. Waverly steered Nicole backward, sprawling out on top of her now-naked wife when the backs of her knees hit the old bed. The springs made far too much noise with their movement, but _God_ she didn't care.

Trailing kisses along Nicole's throat, Waverly rejoiced in the hissed intake of breath when she nipped at the pale skin with her teeth.

"God, Waves, yes," Nicole moaned, and Waverly could just picture her face, her eyes closed and her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Nicole's hands pulled at Waverly's top – still on because she was _not_ going to let lactation ruin the mood _this_ time. Waverly let out a little squeal when long, sure fingers dipped into the small of her back, nails digging in to her skin and dragging all the way up to her shoulder blades.

"Nicole…"

"What do you want, baby?"

Waverly moved lower, tongue finding a sensitive nipple as her fingers searching for purchase, tangling in dark, coarse hair. They were both a bit woolly these days – who had time for trimming or shaving when there were babies to take care of? – but it didn't matter one bit. This was her wife and the hair and the scents and the freckles and the few wrinkles – even the one grey hair Nicole had found the other day – they were all part of this _person_ she so badly needed to connect with.

"I wanna taste you," she murmured around Nicole's nipple, and the redhead's whole body convulsed when Waverly added a slight scrape of her teeth.

"God, yes," Nicole panted, trying to sit up.

"Nope," Waverly said, planting her hand between Nicole's breasts and pressing her into the bed. "Stay there."

"Yes, ma'am," Nicole breathed, and let her head fall back onto the mattress.

Waverly slipped off the bed onto her knees, spreading Nicole open before her, and didn't even take a moment to relish before diving forward. She parted hair with her fingers, pressed out with her tongue, and was suddenly enveloped by familiar and _missed_ tastes and scents. Heady and tangy and thick, smooth and salty and musky, Waverly was so overwhelmed that she found her head trying to float right off her shoulders.

Nicole's cries kept her grounded. Nicole's hand buried in her hair kept her grounded. Nicole's bucking, gyrating hips kept her grounded.

Nicole kept her grounded. Always. Always.

Very quickly, Waverly brought two fingers up and pressed in, finding the spot she knew she would. She had learned all of Nicole's secrets in their first years together, and now she played her like a virtuoso on a treasured instrument. It didn't matter that they had not come together in this way in some time. It only mattered that they knew the steps to this dance without having to speak any words, but the words were fun anyway.

A moan, a groan, panting breaths – all these sounds filled the air, and then Nicole was bucking against Waverly's hand, against her mouth, her whole body winding tightly together before releasing in a glorious wave of fluid and pleasure.

Waverly's jaw was sore. Her _wrist_ was sore. She was pretty sure she'd left marks on Nicole's throat that would be _very_ difficult to explain to the ever-curious Alice. But she didn't care. Nicole Haught, her wife and her lover, was coming undone at her touch and right at that moment, nothing else in the world mattered.

Later, fully satiated and sore and tired, Waverly lay naked from the waist down with her head on Nicole's shoulder. They both still panted, catching their breaths. Sweat Waverly knew would be slow to dry shone on both of them, making them stick to each other. But she didn't care. She was warm and sated and _so in love_ with the woman who belonged to all the skin she was pressing her face into.

"So that was… wild," Nicole ventured.

Waverly smiled, then laughed.

"Wynonna's idea?"

Waverly shook her head in exasperation. "Yes. Our birthday present."

Waverly felt Nicole's smile, where her face was pressed to the top of her head. "Well. I'll have to find a way to thank her for finding the time for us."

Waverly smiled, and hugged Nicole a little closer. "Later," she murmured.

Nicole chuckled. "Okay, baby. Later."

* * *

 _A/N: You totally thought I was gonna drag you on a twenty chapter adventure in All The Ways Life Gets In The Way of Sex, didn't you? Believe me, I was tempted. There are so **many** ways I can think of clam-jamming these two. But, alas, I didn't have the heart. So here you have it._

 _They found the fucking time._


End file.
